


A Little Bit Down the Road

by Nadler



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Gen, POV Outsider, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-20 09:43:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10659945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nadler/pseuds/Nadler
Summary: Devin Shore is a good rookie. He rolls with the punches and wants very little.





	A Little Bit Down the Road

**Author's Note:**

> This is me being very sparse and enjoying confused outsider POVs once again.

Devin has simple, simple wants. One of those wants is to not be faced with a teenager that looks lost. That's not his job. Strangely enough, it's not a want that he knew he had until this moment. 

Also, he notes, the teenager kinda looks like Jordie, which might just be him missing the guy. They all do on this team. 

"Are you lost," Devin asks, though he's one hundred percent sure the guy is. 

"Where am I?" the guy asks, which is a smart thing to say. Also, Devin’s right. 

"Dallas, buddy," he says, frowning. He's not sure how the stranger got back here, but there's no trainer nearby or staff. Devin yells, "Hey, can anyone help me?" because it always works. He needs an adult. 

Spezz comes to his rescue--which means Devin asked for an adult and got one. Jamie or Tyler would have also done--a captain is nearly the same thing as an adult and Tyler wears an A at least sometimes, so. Spezz sounds exasperated when he says, "What's the matter now," and that reminds Devin of when his dad was trying to fix a leaking faucet that got progressively worse. 

The guy coughs. "You're Jason Spezza," he says, choking up a little, a little starstruck. Well, Devin was too, when he was called up, but this guy--

"You're at the arena," Devin says. "And if you didn't know that, you're really lost." 

"He's wearing a Stars shirt," the guy flatly says, which is really strange to note because he’s wearing a Stars shirt, too. And also, what else would Spezz be wearing? The team gives them so many shirts. Hey, Devin thinks, he never got this lost guy's name. 

Spezz snorts. "It's fine. You want an autograph before we get you out of here?" he asks, ever the nice guy. Honestly, Spezz is the nicest. "You remember how you got in?" 

"I--uh," the guy stumbles, wide-eyed. His eyes are big and not quite watery. "What's going on? Where's Moe?"

"Were you supposed to meet someone?" Spezz asks. "You should probably call him." 

Karps peers out from the doorway. Devin also realizes that they're blocking it because Karps is trying to look over his shoulder (and succeeding because he is tall). Devin shuffles out of the way. Karps blinks in a very goalie manner and coughs before he opens his mouth to say something--and then closes it. 

"Kari!" the guy says, which okay, the mystery of who he belongs to is now solved, probably. "What’s happening?" 

"What's the last thing you remember?" 

Karps gets an answer, but it makes no sense to Devin. The guy says, "I was just walking down the hallway. Is this some idea of hazing?" Mystery Guy frowns, huffing a little. "A prank? We don't even play the Sens this week!" 

"Uh," Spezz starts, slighly less confused than Devin. "You want to help us out, Kari? Who's this and why does he think I still play for Ottawa?" 

"This is Jamie." Karps puts his hands on the guy's shoulders. "Rookie Jamie. Call the _captain_." 

"Okay, I'll call Jamie," Devin says. Spezz and Karps shoot Devin a look like he's done something particularly stupid. Devin's used to it, but it still hurts.

"Why would you call Lags?" so-called Rookie Jamie asks.

"Okay." Karps coughs. "Not _rookie_ Jamie." 

This is how Devin Shore finds out that past Jamie once traveled to the future--AKA now. Captain Jamie coughs into the phone when Devin tells him that there's a guy Kari says is named Jamie. He also says, "Oh right, that's now." 

Devin blurts this all out to everyone, and Rookie Jamie nearly throws up on the shiny white tile. 

-

Devin honestly loves team meetings, especially when they let them introduce everyone to Rookie Jamie (who isn’t really a rookie, but it gets confusing otherwise, so he’s going to have to deal with it). Rookie Jamie gets that little intimidated look when he sees Sharpy in the room, too. 

He also raises an eye when Tyler waltzes in to sit at his stall. “Seguin, too?” Wisely, he doesn’t mention Boston, and Devin thinks that’s why they will--did?--give him the C. “Is Stamkos going to walk into the room? Who else starts with an S?” 

“I do!” Devin answers, raising his hand.

“We know, Shoresy,” Faks tells him. “I don’t think he means that.” 

Spezz shakes his head. “No, but we’re missing Ales,” he says. “Hemsky.” 

“We can call him Little Jamie,” Eaks suggests while Rookie Jamie tries to process that they have a lot of really high end scorers on the Stars.

Rookie Jamie just wrinkles his face and objects, “No!” 

“I don’t know,” Sharpy chuckles. “It could work. There’s too many Jamies in the room.” 

“Like you can talk,” Patty butts in. He emphasizes, “Patrick.” 

“Man, you look really young,” Tyler says, probably too loudly to be intentional. “Jameson, it’s kinda cute.” 

“Look, this is really strange, okay,” Rookie Jamie interrupts, looking at his older self. “And are we sure this isn’t like the mirror evil twin universe, but in the future?” 

Jamie—Captain Jamie, Devin has to append in his head—shakes his head. Rookie Jamie has a point. The beard is a little terrifying. “Nope. It’s just as weird on the other side. I remember being where you were.” 

“So I get back?” Rookie Jamie says. He looks around the room another time. He gestures to them. “Man, it’s so weird. Mo’s not here. Mini Mo’s not here. Goose, Loui, Nealer? I don’t know most of these guys. What year is it?” 

"2017!" Faks helpfully shouts.

“Can’t tell you what happens to them,” Jamie continues. “But yeah.” 

“What’s the harm,” Tyler asks. “It’s not like you can stop any of it from happening?” 

“It’s not fair to know what happens,” Rous interjects, “What if it changes something?” 

“Causality? Is it going to ruin the timeline?” Big Rig asks, and when everyone looks at him, he says, “What, isn’t that the science word for it?” 

“You gotta give me something,” Rookie Jamie whines. “Is Jenny married? Is Jordie retired?” 

“Hah,” Klinger snorts. “Darth, retired? He's not even thirty.” 

“He’s still playing?” Rookie Jamie asks. “Still down in the A?” 

“He’s up in the Show,” Jamie says, and Rookie Jamie produces the biggest smile Devin’s ever seen any version of Jamie make. “But I’m not going to tell you where.” 

Obviously, it’s not Dallas, Devin doesn’t say. His stuff’s not here anymore. Rookie Jamie looks around the room, but if Jordie was here, he'd already be one of the first ones down. There's nothing like having a younger brother to embarrass. Two of him means more fun.

Jamie knows how he got back, so all he says is, “That worked. This will work,” and everyone takes him at his word when he lays out the plan. Then, he takes his younger self aside, leans down and whispers something into his ear. Rookie Jamie frowns, but he listens. 

The coaches come into the room after that, and a few people jump. Honks frowns and wonders wildly, “What? Huh.” 

“I told them,” Jamie says, which makes Rookie Jamie’s attempt to hide in a stall very amusing. “And anyway, Les remembers it.” 

-

It turns out that having a younger version of a star player out is not the coaches’ idea of fun. Nor Jamie’s, who merely says, “Please, don’t” when his younger self does something that makes everyone wince.

It doesn’t stop Rookie Jamie from falling on his ass at a closed practice. From there, he justifies, “We’ve still got games to play, and they say I need to work on my skating.” He groans. “I, sometimes I feel like—“

And then Jamie’s skating in circles, weaving through milling players and an irate Nemo. 

“Oh,” Rookie Jamie says, suddenly quiet. “Never quit?” 

“Never quit.” Jamie nods, shaking his very sweaty head. It's a little gross, but it's hockey. They're all a little gross. 

Devin gets on the ice and asks Rookie Jamie, “You want to race?” because nothing’s more fun than a race, he thinks. 

-

“So what caused Rookie Jamie to come here,” Devin later asks Karps, sitting down at the Finnish Table with his lunch. One, because asking Jamie wouldn’t give him a better answer and also, well, Karps was there. 

“Stress,” Karps says, shrugging. Honks says something in Finnish. Nemo coolly answers in the same. Esa frowns, but Karps’s laughing, so it’s not a bad thing. “Uncertainty can eat at a rookie, you know. He doesn’t believe self.” 

“That’s a little dumb,” Devin remarks. “He’s our captain.” 

“It’s Jamie.” That does explain some of it, Devin guesses.

Devin fends off Curtis coming over and trying to steal something off his plate. That’s just rude. 

\- 

Two days later, Rookie Jamie is gone, back to his own time. Presumably he doesn't get eaten by time vortex sharks (which Rich told him were definitely a real thing) because Jamie's still there to be captainly and give Segs a noogie.

-

“Did you build a time machine?” Devin pesters. He’s planned it so that Jamie can’t get out of the window seat until he answers him. He has to know. 

“I paid a guy,” Jamie says, looking at Devin with a strange look in his eye. “You don’t want to leave this to non-experts.” 

“So you did build a time machine!”

Jamie sighs. “Okay, maybe.” 

“Can I use it?” 

“And what, go back to when you’re five?” Jamie has a point. That would probably not be a good thing. 

Devin’s a little heartbroken. 

“You know what? You can help me take it apart. You wanted to press a button?” 

“Good enough for me.” 

-

It’s a very unimpressive Time Machine. 

In fact, Devin is almost sure it’s not a time machine at all. Jamie turned the day into a ‘rookies smashing things’ party and barbecue, so that’s more fun. 

The more Devin looks at the scrap, he’s almost sure it’s not a time machine. But Jamie lets Devin use a big hammer, and once it’s disconnected from the power, it’s a very shiny piece of metal. It makes a satisfying sound when Devin swings and connects. 

Devin's content.


End file.
